We've seen the liberals and secularists start turning Merry Christmas into Happy Holiday and now we have those Taliban-producing America-hating Northern Californians turning St. Patrick's Day into Shamrock Day. Handmaiden sent me the following email of a correspondence between a friend of her's from California and the local children's museum in Berkley, California.Here is the local children's museum response:"Thank you for your thoughtful questions about our upcoming Shamrock Day event. Our goal is to bring cultural diversity to our audience without broaching religious boundaries."
"A number of modern day celebrations have their origins in religious holidays, but have become broadly celebrated by everyone. Halloween and Mardi Gras are prime examples, and to a large extent, so is St. Patrick's Day, though certainly for many Catholics it is a true holiday (holy day) with religious significance."
"What we have tried to do at Habitot is focus on the non-religious elements of prominent celebrations with broad cultural meaning that everyone can learn from and appreciate, and avoid all particularly religious holidays like Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter or Ramadan as well as references to the religious origins of holidays. Norooz is a spring festival, not a religious one, for example."
"I think you and your family will enjoy the Irish-inspired activities we have planned forSharmrock Day. Celtic music will be played, Leprechauns and pots of gold will abound, green will be everywhere, and these elements can help children learn about Irish culture which is our main intent, and the reason the event is named Shamrock Day and not St. Patrick's Day."
"That said, we are well aware that we need community voices like yours to advise us in our efforts to appropriately reflect diverse cultures in non-stereotypic ways, and to tell us when we haven't gotten it right!"
"I'd like to invite you to join our *"Community Connections" *advisory..." etc.
Here is the informational blurb about Shamrock Day:
Shamrock Day
The Shamrock Ceilidh Band will perform traditional Irish folk music from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm at Habitot Children's Museum's Shamrock Day celebration. There will be a hunt for hidden "gold" throughout the museum from 1:00 - 3:00 pm. In the museum's Art Studio, children can create and decorate their own green-lens glasses and print Shamrock Day cards with carved potatoes and other fun materials. Shamrock cookies and green punch will be provided at 3:00 pm.
Saturday, March 17, 2007; 10:00 - 5:00 pm
This FREE Admission Day is generously sponsored by Union Bank.